I'm rebuilding the engine for my Allis B1 and I honed the bore and set the valve lash. I cleaned and scrubbed the engine in a chemical parts washer. A white rag came out clean as a whistle when I wiped out the bore. I then washed the block off with hot soap and water and scrubbed out the bore with a brush. You can see the honing residue on the rag after the first soap and water scrub. I had to scrub and rinse the bore twice to get a rag to come out spotless. This is a critical step to insure that your rings will last a long time after assembling your engine.

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MH81, Texas Deere and Horse, motobreeder and 9 others have said thanks

I understand the worries about flash rust, but washing with hot soap and water is a must if you want the honing stone and iron particles gone. I had no problems with rust flash since I dried the block immediately afterwards. You can use compressed air, then a heat gun or a hair dryer. I set the block on the wood stove for a little while and it dried in minutes. You can use brake clean, gas, or anything else, but this will not get the grit out of the bore no matter how clean you think you got it. Sure, the engine will run fine, but the life of the rings will be shortened without a hot water and detergent scrub.
I never used to scrub out the bore with hot water and detergent years ago, but when a machinist buddy of mine mentioned it to me, I followed his advice. The reason that I made this thread, was to show how much residue remained after thoroughly cleaning the block in a parts washer, and that it wasn't good enough. I'm thinking that the hot water expands the pores in the cylinder, releases the grit, and the detergent helps wash the particles away. To each his own, but I'll never assemble an engine after honing without a hot water and detergent bath.

Edited by classic, April 10, 2015 - 02:15 PM.

MH81, Texas Deere and Horse, tractorgarden and 2 others have said thanks

I understand the worries about flash rust, but washing with hot soap and water is a must if you want the honing stone and iron particles gone. I had no problems with rust flash since I dried the block immediately afterwards. You can use compressed air, then a heat gun or a hair dryer. I set the block on the wood stove for a little while and it dried in minutes. You can use brake clean, gas, or anything else, but this will not get the grit out of the bore no matter how clean you think you got it. Sure, the engine will run fine, but the life of the rings will be shortened without a hot water and detergent scrub.
I never used to scrub out the bore with hot water and detergent years ago, but when a machinist buddy of mine mentioned it to me, I followed his advice. The reason that I made this thread, was to show how much residue remained after thoroughly cleaning the block in a parts washer, and that it wasn't good enough. I'm thinking that the hot water expands the pores in the cylinder, releases the grit, and the detergent helps wash the particles away. To each his own, but I'll never assemble an engine after honing without a hot water and detergent bath.

Good point.You should always scrub brake rotors and drums after you turn them on a lathe for the same reason.

I went thru all that on my b-10 engine some 10 years ago and it is still running like a top. last year I rebuilt a motor for dads b-10 and we had the engine bored and I honed it myself, I left the washing and cleaning to dad. he must not have got it good enough and I never checked it, before the end of the summer it was smoking so we tore it down again and found the bore to be worn a bit and the oil pan had allot of sliver dust in it. wore bad enough to put a step in the bottom of the bore.

warm soapy water and a clean white paper towel !! there is no substitute !!